Lightning Strikes the Heart
by X-File Writer
Summary: Mulder and Scully investigate an accident--or murder--shrouded in mist. But are they part of the murderer's plan? (UST/MSR)


Lightning Strikes the Heart

Lightning Strikes the Heart

By: X-File Writer

The X Files- Fan Fiction

Disclaimer: The X File characters are the sole property of Chris Carter, 1013 production studio, and The Fox Network. I am just borrowing them. I meant no infringement. Please do not sue me! 

This takes place before Requiem.

**************************************************************************** 

11:58 PM Aug. 21

Hilton Highway

Lightning streaked across the darkened sky creating a deafening peal of thunder as it hit the ground. The man leaning over the wheel of an old Toyota jumped at the sound. His headlights cast an eerie glow in the darkness that followed. The only sound was the man's jagged breathing and the stead patter of rain on the road.

Memories flooded into the man's mind *It had been a dark night, much like this one. The car he had been in was spinning out of control. As it flew into a ditch two screams could be heard, the man's and a young women's.*

The man was jolted back to reality by a honking car horn. An SUV approaching in the opposite lane wanted to make sure he stopped driving on the centerline.

The man shook his head to clear it. He pulled his Toyota back into the right lane and sighed. If only, that night he had-

The blood curdling female scream once again over took his senses. This time it wasn't from his memory, it seemed to be filling the car. Wide-eyed, the man looked outside. Directly in front of his moving car stood the ghost of a woman, her face hidden in the darkness. But the man recognized her.

"Noooo!" he screamed.

The man swerved to avoid hitting her. The tiny car he drove didn't have a chance as it smashed into the side of the passing SUV.

The ghost vanished, her work done.

Lightning streaked across the darkened sky causing a defending peal of thunder as it hit the ground. In the eerie silence that followed the only sound was the patter of rain on broken glass.

8:04 AM Aug. 22

Washington, D.C.

Mulder sat back in his office chair. Holding a sharpened pencil he carefully took aim and threw it. The pencil hit the mark. Mulder began to search his desk for more ammunition when Scully walked in.

She put down her brief case and hung up her coat, commenting, "You are in early, Mulder. Working hard, I can see."

Mulder turned in his chair so he could see her better. She was wearing a tight, long sleeved brown shirt and black pants. Her gold cross hung around he neck. It glowed, even in the dim light of their basement office. 

He said dryly, "Good morning to you, too. And yes, I am fine. Thanks for asking."

Scully sarcastically replied, "I'm sorry, Mulder. I hadn't realized you had PMS."

Mulder chose to ignore her remark. He handed her a folder. "Our case."

Scully opened the folder and looked at the picture on the first page. She gasped as she looked at the demolished car in the photo. She could only imagine how mangled the car's driver must have been. At the bottom of the picture the time: 12:24 AM was written.

"Mulder, how did you get this report so fast? This accident took place less than eight hours ago."

"Well, incase you haven't noticed, Scully, we live in the Computer Age." (Scully gave him a look.) "And I requested it early this morning when I saw it on CNN."

"Why Mulder, I thought you only watch your 'special tapes' at night."

Scully flipped to the second page. It was an autopsy of the driver; a 29 year old male, named Jon Rabry. He died from internal injuries caused by the accident. His blood tests came up negative for drugs or alcohol.

Scully looked up from the papers. "How does this pertain to the X-Files?"

Mulder stood up from behind his desk to point something out to Scully. The next page was a police report.

He read, "An eyewitness reports seeing a glowing woman, a ghost, in the middle of the road. And Mr. Rabry must have seen this ghost too, Scully, I bet he swerved so he wouldn't hit her."

Scully was skeptical, "Mulder, did you happen to watch the Weather Channel last night? There was a huge thunderstorm! The witness probably just saw a lightning flash."

"So Rabry swerved to avoid a lightning flash? He saw something, and it wasn't electricity. Scully, haven't you ever wanted to know if those old ghost stories were true?"

Scully remembered when she was little and her brothers would tell her those scary stories. "Maybe the road was just slick and-

Mulder was looking at her with his puppy dog eyes. "Please Scully? Let's just go look."

For the first time Scully noticed how close his face was to hers, with those eyes- her heart flipped over, but she kept her face emotionless. "Okay Mulder."

"Great!" Mulder smiled and grabbed his coat. "C'mon Scully." He walked briskly out the door.

Scully faltered for a moment, then she caught herself. She picked up her coat and followed him.

Mulder walked quickly, trying to clear his head. He had felt something in their closeness. But they were friends and partners, nothing more. No, that was a lie! There was something more, deeper in their relationship. But Scully would never love him, not in that sense. Not 'Spooky', with his far out ideas. No. They would be friends and partners, nothing more.

Mulder was taking long strides as he walked and had almost made it to the parking garage before the realized that he'd left Scully far behind. This would really help their relationship!

After a moment Scully came jogging up to him. "Thanks for waiting, Mulder."

"Sorry," he mumbled as he opened her car door.

She got in and slammed the door, narrowly missing shutting Mulder's fingers in the metal frame.

As Mulder got into the drivers side he thought, "Okay, I deserved that."

After a short detour to get Scully's travel bag, (Mulder already had his), they were off. To get to the accident site they would have to drive eight hours.

3: 24 PM Aug. 22

Hilton Highway

For the first seven hours the two agents rode in total silence; with Scully looking out the window and Mulder occasionally strumming his fingers on the steering wheel.

Finally Scully couldn't take the silence any longer. She said, "Mulder let's talk."

"About what?"

"I don't know…" (Scully thought, _"We should talk about us, our relationship._") But she said, "Life."

"My life's fine." _("As long as it's with you,"_ Mulder thought.)

"Mine too." (_Sigh_.) "We don't communicate very well, Mulder."

"Communicate well? Sure we do Scully! I always know what you're thinking."

"Really? What am I thinking now?" asked Scully with an amused look on her face.

"You are thinking, 'I wish Mulder would shut up so we can stop communicating.'"

Scully laughed. Her white teeth shown in a smile. Mulder smiled too; he was always happy when he got her to lighten up.

They drove on and soon came to a part of the highway that was blocked off by yellow police tape. Mulder pulled the car to a stop.

As they got out of the car a young woman, of about twenty-five, approached them. She was wearing a skirt and shirt much like Scully's, but in a pale blue. Her dark hair was pinned up in the back.

"Hello Agents Mulder and Scully. I am glad that you finally made it. I am Rochelle Hall."

"Um…do we know you, Miss Hall?"

Rochelle was busy flipping through a notebook. "No."

"Are you part of some group that obsesses over studying Scully, the X-Files, and me?" asked Mulder.

The girl looked up from her notebook and laughed, showing perfectly straight teeth. "No, no! I am nothing of the sort! Listen, we can talk more about me later. The removal crew will be here soon to clean up this place, so you had better have a quick look around. I wasn't getting anywhere."

The two agents gave each other a knowing look while Rochelle approached one of the police officers.

She said to him, "These are Agents Mulder and Scully with the FBI."

The man appeared to ignore her.

This annoyed Mulder who got in the officer's face and exclaimed, "Don't you have the decency to look at a woman when she is talking to you?"

Startled, the officer jumped. Looking at Scully the man apologized, "I'm sorry ma'am, I didn't even hear you."

Mulder was about to say that it was Rochelle that had spoken, not Scully, when she said, "It's okay, Agent Mulder."

He shrugged and began to walk towards the crash site. Scully flashed her badge and exclaimed, "I'm Agent Scully and that is Agent Mulder. We are from the FBI and will be investigating this case."

The officer nodded and replied, "By all means, look around."

Scully walked over to the mangled car. Dried blood covered what remained of the driver's seat. She moved to go look at the SUV when she heard her name being called. "Scully!"

Mulder waved for her to come over. The ground was covered in glass that cracked under Scully's shoes as she approached him.

In his hand Mulder held a piece of glass. At first glance it appeared to be like all the other pieces covering the ground, but if you looked closer you could see that it was a perfect heart shape.

Scully took it in her hand. In the center there was an auburn colored dot, it looked much like paint. But when Scully touched it she realized that the color was on the inside, not out.

"Where did you find this?" asked Scully.

"It was just on the ground. I was hoping you could give some insight into how it was made."

"Mulder, I'm a doctor, not a glass-sculptor. Though this is very interesting…"

"Yes, very," exclaimed Rochelle.

The two agents jumped. They hadn't heard Rochelle approach them.

"I'm sorry I surprised you," she said. "I just wanted to give you Mr. Rabry's address, incase you wanted to go check it out. Oh, and there's also my apartment number, if you want to you can stop by around 5:30 for dinner."

With that she turned around and left.

Mulder took back the heart and put it in his jacket pocket with the paper from Rochelle.

"Mulder, I don't think we're going to find anything else here that wasn't covered on the police report."

"Yeah," Mulder agreed as he moved out of the way of the clean-up crew.

"Why don't we find a hotel?" asked Scully as she walked towards their car. "I'm hungry. Did you know we skipped lunch?"

When she didn't hear a response, Scully turned around. Mulder was standing next to a police officer. In the officer's hand the heart glowed a deep blue.

Mulder turned and walked towards Scully, while placing the heart back in his pocket.

"What were you doing?" asked Scully.

"Well, Mr. O'Brian saw us with the heart and he wanted to see it."

"Mulder, was it just me or did the heart look blue when he touched it, not auburn?"

"You noticed that too? Maybe it's magic…" Mulder said as he got into the car.

"There's probably some sort of chemical reaction that takes place periodically, changing the color…"

The both sat in silence for a moment, thinking. Then Mulder turned on the car and said, "Let's go find a hotel."

5:01 PM Aug. 22

Paper Leaf Hotel

After driving for about twenty minutes the two agents found a quaint little hotel. The outside was cheery white accented by terraces covered in vines. In the middle of the parking lot there grew a tall weeping willow. Under the tree's sweeping branches there was a small park bench, perfect for a pair of lovers to sit on and dream.

While pulling into the lot Mulder commented, "This looks like your kind of place, Scully. It's more of a Bread and Breakfast, than a hotel."

Scully replied, "Mulder, I thought you liked this place because of the terraces. I could picture you climbing up them, just to sit on the roof and look for aliens."

The two agents got their bags and went inside. Mulder had already reserved two rooms, so their keys were waiting on the counter.

Scully grabbed her key and said, "Mulder, I'm going to go and take a nice, hot shower."

Mulder smiled ruefully, "I'll join you."

It took Scully a moment to understand what Mulder had said. "No. Mulder, go to your own room."

Scully turned around quickly to hide her smile. Mulder had just flirted with her, hadn't he? "No," she told herself. "He was just kidding. And besides, I'm not interested in Mulder in that way…"

Mulder put on his puppy-dog face and followed Scully. His room was right next to hers. He opened his door and walked inside.

The room was quaint, just like the hotels outside. The bed comforter had a flower design and the furniture was a dark oak color.

Mulder dropped his bag on the floor and sat down on the bed. Picking up the remote, he flicked on the screen. He hoped they had the sci-fi channel…

After about twenty-five minutes of watching no particular show on T.V. Mulder stretched. He was hungry and hoped Scully had finished her shower so they could go and eat. He was thinking of taking Miss Hall up on her offer.

Mulder shut off the T.V. and walked to Scully's door. When he didn't hear any sound he opened it quietly.

There lay Scully on the bed, asleep. After their long drive and the relaxing shower she had fallen asleep.

Mulder gazed at her for a moment. Scully looked so peaceful when she was asleep. She reminded him of an angel, with her red hair forming a halo around her beautiful face.

Mulder walked quietly over to the dresser. Pulling out hotel stationary and a pen he wrote: SCULLY, I DECIDED TO TAKE MISS HALL UP ON HER 5:30 DINNER OFFER. COME AND JOIN US WHEN YOU WAKE UP! SHE LIVES IN DORM #24 AT THE J. D. EDISON COLLAGE. ~MULDER~

Glancing at his watch Mulder saw it was 5:31 PM. Oh well. He wouldn't get there on time. But if he hurried he could still get some food.

5:45 PM Aug. 22

J D Edison Collage, Dorm #24

Mulder walked up to the door marked '24' and knocked. After a moment the door swung open. Miss Hall stood in the doorway. She looked very different then she had earlier; her brown hair was down, it fell about her shoulders, and instead of a skirt she was wearing slightly tight blue jeans. Rochelle looked more comfortable here.

"Hi," Mulder said. "I was wondering if I could still join you for dinner? I'm sorry that I'm a bit late."

"No, that's fine, Agent Mulder. Come in. Where is Agent Scully?" asked Rochelle as she moved to let him get by.

"Scully's still at the hotel," replied Mulder as he picked his way around boxes that covered the floor. "Um…are you moving?"

"Yeah." Rochelle cleared papers off her couch so Mulder could sit. "Is pizza okay? I just ordered some."

Mulder smiled as he sat down. "Sure. That sounds great!" 

Rochelle made her way back towards the door. "The food is at a little place around the corner. They don't deliver, so I have to go pick it up."

Mulder got up to follow her, but she exclaimed, "Would you mind waiting here Agent Mulder? I have some food left in the kitchen, could you make a side to go with the pizza?"

Him? Left alone in a kitchen? That was certainly a scary thought…

Mulder shrugged. "Okay."

Rochelle opened the door. "Thanks. I'll be back here in five minutes."

After Rochelle left Mulder looked around the dorm. Almost everything, including a bed and a desk, was covered in packaging paper and boxes. Finally Mulder spotted a mini refrigerator in the corner. This must be the 'kitchen'. 

Mulder opened the small refrigerator. Inside there was a half-empty quart of milk, two Mountain Dews, and a small Tupperware box. He pulled out the Tupperware and opened it. He was surprised at what he found inside, sunflower seeds. What were the chances that out of the four items one was his favorite snack? And he still didn't understand how this girl knew about Scully and him…

"Hi, I'm back!" said Rochelle as she walked in. The mouth-watering aroma of fresh pizza immediately filled the room. 

Rochelle noticed Mulder standing over the refrigerator holding the Tupperware. "Good! You found something. Can you bring that over with the two cans of pop?" She set the pizza box down on top of one of the boxes. 

Mulder got the requested items and also set them on the box. "So you like sun flower seeds?"

"Uh-huh." Rochelle had already taken a piece of the steaming pizza and bit into it. 

Mulder followed suit and grabbed his own piece. When he bit into it sauce oozed from under the cheese and landed on his pants, in a very bad spot for anything red to fall. "Oh, shit."

Instead of laughing, Rochelle quickly grabbed a handful of napkins. Handing them to Mulder she exclaimed, "If you go down the hallway you'll find a bathroom to your right."

"Thanks," mumbled Mulder as he hurried out the door. It would certainly be hard to recover his 'cool exterior' after this.

Rochelle put her pizza down. Mulder had left his jacket on the couch. She drew the glass heart from his pocket. It glowed a brilliant purple as she stroked the edges with her finger. She carefully put it back in his pocket and picked up her slice of pizza.

Mulder came back in the room. He had decided to strike up a conversation to distract Rochelle from his embarrassing moment. "So, Miss Hall, you go to college here?"

"You can call me Rochelle, Agent Mulder. I got my BA here."

"You can just call me Mulder. How did you know about me and Scully?"

"I just know a lot of things. Would you like another piece?"

Her comment made Mulder suspicious. "So what do you think about the witness statement that they saw a ghost?"

"I believe in the paranormal, Mulder. It is very possible that a ghost was there."

This surprised Mulder even more. Most people didn't just come out and say, 'I believe in the paranormal.' Not unless they were part of some fanatic group… "Do you think someone murdered Mr.Rabry by causing him to drive his car into the SUV?"

"I didn't think there was a murder investigation. I thought it was just an accident."

"There isn't. There's no proof. But what do you think Rochelle?"

Rochelle looked into Mulder's brown eyes. "I don't think you should be so paranoid, Mulder."

Mulder got up to leave. He didn't think Rochelle had done anything, he still wasn't even sure why she had been there today. There seemed to be something she wasn't telling him. Even if this wasn't a case of murder, it still seemed to be something more then a little accident. 

"Thanks for the food, I think I better be going."

"You're welcome, I'll see you later," replied Rochelle. There was a certainty in her tone of voice.

Mean while…

6:26 PM Aug. 22

Paper Leaf Hotel

Scully sat up in bed. She had only meant to lie down for a second, she hadn't meant to fall asleep! Her first thought was of Mulder, where was he? He should have woken her up. What time was it, anyway? 

Scully looked at the clock. It read: 6:27 PM. Looking closer she saw that there was a note on the dresser. It was from Mulder, an hour ago! He and this little college girl had been alone too long…wait a minute, what was she thinking? "Mulder's a sensible guy," she thought. "Well, not really. At least he isn't mine to be jealous over."

Scully got out of bed. She quickly pulled a comb through her hair and left her room. She was headed to the lobby to find out where exactly this Edison College was.

Downstairs she rang a bell on the counter. A clerk appeared. "How may I help you, ma'am?"

"I was wondering if you could tell me where Edison College is?"

"It's about five miles down the road."

Scully sighed. Mulder had driven away with her only mode of transportation and she didn't feel like walking five miles. Her stomach rumbled. She was starving. "Um…do you know where I might get some food?"

"Well, the Jungle Bar and Grill is down the road a piece."

'A piece'? Well it sounded closer than the college and she didn't want to wait for a cab. 

"Thanks," said Scully and she left. 

6:48 PM Aug. 22   
Paper Leaf Hotel 

After leaving Rochelle's hotel Mulder had driven back to the Paper Leaf Hotel. He hoped Scully wasn't mad at him for leaving her there, she had just looked so peaceful sleeping... 

Climbing the stairs he reached her door. He hesitated for a moment, then knocked, louder than he had earlier. There again was no response. Mulder had at least expected to hear her yelling at him for interrupting her silent slumber. He tried the door handle. It was locked, unlike it had been earlier. "Scully must have left," thought Mulder. He hoped she was okay. He never liked not knowing where she was. 

Mulder jogged down the flight of stairs and headed to the lobby. He hoped someone there had seen Scully leave. 

Reaching the counter Mulder pounded on the tiny bell. A clerk came running. "Sir?" 

"Did you see a woman with red hair leave here?" asked Mulder. 

"Yes I did. She was going to get a bite to eat. I recommended the Jungle Bar and Grill to her. It's down the road a piece." 

"Thanks," said Mulder as he dashed out of the lobby. 

6:50 PM Aug. 22

Jungle Bar and Grill

Scully sat stiffly on a stool in the Jungle Bar and Grill. In front of her sat a half-eaten Caesar Salad. Though she had arrived there hungry, she no longer felt that way. The Jungle seemed to be the local "hang-out" and many men had stopped by to hit on her. Keeping her 'Ice Queen' attitude Scully told them, 'Get the heck away!' and they had.

Over all the Jungle Bar and Grill wasn't such a bad place. Though it escaped Scully why they called it 'the Jungle', other than the fact that ape-men ran wild. It seemed like the basic bar, fully equipped with neon signs and smoke that hung in the air.

Scully once again poked at the lettuce with her fork. "You have to eat Dana," she told herself. But she didn't feel like it. Mulder was still at the college girl's dorm and The Ape-Men were staring.

Suddenly Scully's thoughts were interrupted by a male voice, "What is an angel like you doing in a place like this?"

The thought of stabbing the man with her fork or shooting him with her gun crossed Scully's mind. Instead she decided to play along. Putting on a flirtatious voice she replied, "Just waiting for the right guy to come around."

Scully felt the man run a finger down her back, causing her to shiver. Now the time was right. With amazing speed Scully spun around on the stool and landed the man with a good right hook.

"Ouch! Scully that hurt!"

Scully looked down to find Mulder on the ground rubbing his chin. She glared at him. "Mulder what are you doing here? And what were you doing!"

Mulder put on an innocent look, "Sorry, Scully, I was just having some fun."

Scully turned her back to him and busied herself with eating her salad. Mulder sat down next to her and ordered a beer. 

Taking the beer placed before him, Mulder nursed it. Scully looked at him out of the corner of her eye. She wasn't mad at him, not really. How could anyone stay mad at a man with those eyes? And besides, he had definitely been flirting with her this time…Scully decided to pretend she was still mad, anyway, she enjoyed hearing Mulder's attempts at apologies.

Mulder sat on the stool thinking. He was not really sorry for offending Scully. He had enjoyed touching her back and seeing the shiver run down her spine. It was not one of those wake-up-in-your-bed-after-a-nightmare shivers; it was more of an I-am-really-excited shiver that you get after going on a roller coaster. Mulder chose to apologize to Scully anyway. He hated it when she didn't speak to him.

"Listen, Scully, I am REALLY SORRY about that," said Mulder with the puppy-dog face.

Scully looked at him with interest. "Really?"

"Yes."

Scully knew Mulder was lying, but it didn't matter. At least he'd made the attempt. "So what did you find out from 'the college girl'?"

"Who? You mean Rochelle? Yeah, she's nice."

"Nice?" Scully turned on the stool to look at Mulder.

"Uh-huh. And smart too." Mulder took another swig from the beer. He was enjoying the look in Scully's eyes and on her face.

"Nice and smart?" 

"But don't worry, Scully. You have no competition," exclaimed Mulder while patting Scully's leg.

At his touch Scully felt the shiver again, this time stronger. She kept her face emotionless. "Good." She quickly turned back to her salad.

Mulder hid his smile behind the beer bottle. "She does seem to be with-holding something, though."

"Isn't it probable that Miss Hall was just intimidated by having and FBI agent in her home?" asked Scully.

Mulder blinked, it was possible. But the way Rochelle had avoided almost every question so smoothly…

Scully had finished her salad and she left her money on the counter. "Will you give me a ride this time, Mulder?"

"Sure." Mulder quickly got up and pulled out cash to pay for the beer.

Just then Scully noticed the stain on Mulder's pants. "Mulder, you know that PMS comment I made earlier, I was just kidding."

Mulder walked outside. "It's pizza sauce."

"What ever you say. But if you ever need a tampon, I'm sure I could find you one."

Mulder held the car keys just out of her reach in a menacing way. "Remember, I'm your ride."

Scully put on a fake frown. "Fine. I'll stop."

"Good." Mulder started the car. "Tomorrow we'll check out the late Mr. Rabry's residence."

"Sure thing, Crampy," replied Scully as she buckled her seat belt. 

6:29 AM Aug. 23

Paper Leaf Hotel

"Beep, Beep, Beep." In the still darkness of the hotel room an alarm clock went off. Scully rolled over sleepily in bed. With her fist she hit out, trying in vain to turn off the alarm. Why had she set the alarm for such an early time? She remembered why, last night she had been almost giddy when she had returned. The time had meant nothing to Scully when she set it; she had only been concerned with remembering how Mulder's touch had felt.

This morning Scully mentally slapped herself for her silly actions the night before. "Mulder had just been playing with you at the bar," said Scully's skeptical side. "It meant nothing to him, why does it mean so much to you?"

Scully did not know why and now wasn't the time to think about such things. She grabbed clothes out of her suitcase and stumbled into the shower. She let the warm water wash over her body. It felt good and relaxing, she hoped she didn't fall back to sleep. Suddenly the water turned icy cold. Scully sucked in air; she hadn't expected the change. Listening, she heard the shower from next door in Mulder's room. Why did this have to be one of those places where all the plumbing was connected and two people couldn't both have a hot shower?

Quickly Scully finished showering and got dressed. Walking over to her suitcase she pulled out a cereal bar, this would serve as breakfast. She turned on a small coffee maker to prepare her caffeine fix. 

Sitting down on her bed with her breakfast, Scully opened the local morning newspaper. (It had been left under her door as one of those complimentary things.) The leading article was about a local Boy Scout troop that had saved a dog. "Nothing much must happen here," thought Scully. The next page was the comics, then came the obituaries and marriages. The last page was full of advertisements. Scully noticed, with a smile, that one was for the Jungle Bar and Grill. Underneath it was an AA (Alcoholic's Anonymous) ad. It was a strange thing to have in the newspaper, but Scully thought little of it. She folded the paper and put it on her bed.

Scully headed into her bathroom for one more 'primping session'. Then taking her mug of coffee she headed out onto the balcony. 

The balcony overlooked the parking lot. "It's not the most wonderful sight in the world," thought Scully. Her gaze fell on the bench under the weeping willow. Mulder was sitting there, thinking. The glass heart glowed an intense auburn color as he held it.

Scully decided to join him. After descending the stairs she walked over to the bench and sat down next to Mulder. "Good morning, Mulder. What are you doing?"

"I was just thinking about the case. But look at that sky."

Scully looked up at the sky. It certainly was beautiful! Pastels of every color painted the sky in a breath-taking mural. It was a wonderful morning!

Mulder, very slowly, slid his arm around Scully's shoulders. She wanted, ever so much, to rest her head on his shoulder. But a war raged inside Scully's mind, and her skeptical side won. Her thoughts told her, "Dana, Mulder is just your friend. This is just a friendly gesture."

When Mulder noticed that Scully had made no response to his gesture, he pulled away. Once he was standing he said, "Well, we better get going, Scully. We should check out Rabry's house."

"Uh, yeah." Scully moved to get up. Her pulse, which had quickened at Mulder's touch, now seemed to stop. It was like she was balancing on the edge of a cliff and at any moment she could fall off into a sea of emotions. With out Mulder as her life vest she couldn't survive. Scully had just poked a hole in her life vest, and she knew it.

7:27 AM Aug.23

The late, Mr. Rabry's House

Mulder and Scully walked up cracked cement stairs that led to Mr. Rabry's front door. The yard was unkept and over grown with weeds. The house itself was very small. It appeared to consist of two, maybe three rooms.

"As far as we know, Mr. Rabry lived here by himself," said Mulder as he pulled a key out of a 'evidence bag' and shoved it into the keyhole.

"How did you get that?" asked Scully as they walked inside.

"Remember Mr. O'Brian the policeman? He gave it to me after he got a look at the glass heart." Mulder pulled the shades open to let some light in.

"What exactly are we looking for, Mulder?"

"I don't know. But we will know when we find it."

"That helps," thought Scully. She walked over to a desk in the corner. She opened the drawers and pulled out papers. Finding one that interested her she exclaimed, "Look at this Mulder."

Scully held up a certificate. It was from AA (Alcoholic's Anonymous) for completing some sort of course. It was made out to Jon Rabry.

"Look's like Mr. Rabry favored the booze a bit too much. But look at this, Scully." Mulder held up a letter written in flowing script. 

Scully read, "…my dearest Jon, I love you more then I can ever express. But if you continue on the path that you are on, I am afraid we will have to part. I cannot watch you do this to yourself, you must get help! Please, for my sake…for our sake. At least consider it. In this letter I have included a card, please call! You won't be alone, we will do it together…"

Scully looked up from the letter. "What is she talking about?"

Mulder held up a faded business card. On it was printed; 'MITCH STRATEN-AA COUNSLELOR 555-6871' 

"Mr. Rabry's old girl friend wanted him to get help with his alcohol problem. Guess who she was?"

Scully scanned down to the end of the letter. Her mouth dropped open at the name she found, Rochelle Hall.

Scully turned to Mulder. "Miss Hall? I didn't even know she was connected to this case. Did she ever mention her relationship with Mr. Rabry?"

Mulder shook his head. "No." He looked down. A purple glow was radiating from his pocket. He carefully drew the glass heart from his pocket and set it down on Mr. Rabry's desk.

"Mulder, why do you think it's doing that?"

Mulder looked at Scully and said, "I don't know, Scully. The glass heart seems to be reacting to being in this place. I'm beginning to think that everyone who touches the heart will get a different color; like their own fingerprint."

"There is one problem with your conclusion; we both get the same color when we touch it."

"Yeah," exclaimed Mulder. "I noticed that."

He picked up the heart and handed it to Scully. "Why don't you hold onto it for awhile? You have a lesser chance of loosing it." 

Scully took the glass heart and slid it into her pocket. "What do you think we should do now?"

Mulder replied, "Well, I'm going to go talk with Rochelle. Why don't you try to get a hold of Mr. Straten?"

Scully nodded and they left Mr. Rabry's home.

8:16 AM Aug. 23

J. D. Edison College Parking Lot

Scully had just dropped Mulder off in front of Miss Hall's dorm. She had told him she would try to get in touch with Mr. Straten and that she would be back later. She sat inside the car, holding the AA card. Scully knew she should be on the phone with the counselor, but her mind was thinking about Mulder. What was he doing up there? Would he be safe? "Of course he's fine, Dana," her skeptical said. "Don't worry about Mulder."

But Scully, herself, wasn't so sure. She picked up the card, anyway, and proceeded to punch the phone number into her cell phone. 

"Hello?" a male voice answered.

"Mr. Straten?"

"Yes."

"I am Special Agent Dana Scully with the FBI. I would like to ask you a few questions about a Mr. Jon Rabry."

"Um…sure. Jon? What would you like to know about him?"

"We have reason to believe Mr. Rabry was murdered by a…"

"A what?"

Scully let out an exasperated sigh, "A ghost."

"A ghost? You've got to be kidding!"

"No, Mr. Straten, I'm not."

"Are you really with the FBI? I thought Jon died in a simple car accident." Mr. Straten seemed to be getting concerned that this was a crank call.

"Yes, I am with the FBI and he did die in an accident. Now about Mr. Rabry; do you know why he joined AA?"

Mr. Straten replied with a tone of humor in his voice, "Because he had a drinking problem."

Scully was not amused. "Yes, I concluded that much. I meant; did anyone talk Mr. Rabry into joining AA?"

Mr. Straten paused for a moment. "Well, I suppose it was the accident that jolted Jon into reality about his problem."

Scully was interested. "An accident? Can you tell me more about it?"

"No. I'm afraid I don't know much. Other then it took place ten years ago and was very tragic. I know Mr. Rabry was involved and joined us soon after that."

"Thank you for you time, Mr. Straten. That will be all," said Scully. 

"I'm just glad I could help." With that the cell phone clicked off.

Meanwhile…

8:15 AM Aug. 23

J. D. Edison College, Dorm #24

Mulder stood in front of dorm number twenty-four. The same place he had stood just last night. But something was different, and he just couldn't put his finger on it. He reached out and knocked on the door. There was no response. Mulder tried the doorknob. It was unlocked. He carefully pushed the door open.

The dorm was empty, completely and utterly empty. There wasn't one piece of furniture, not one scrap of paper or box. "How can this be?" thought Mulder. He knew there were quick moving companies, but this fast? It was six-thirty last night when he left, and Rochelle didn't even seem to be done packing. Could she have finished and moved out by eight-twenty the next morning? It didn't make sense; there wasn't even a trace of anyone being there recently. 

"Looking for someone?"

Mulder jumped. He had not heard anyone approach him. "Um…yeah. Do you know where Rochelle Hall is?"

An elderly janitor replied, "I have been working here for nine years, and I don't know any Miss Hall. That there dorm twenty-four has been vacant all along. There are many rumors about it…"

Mulder looked into the janitor's eyes. He wasn't sure if he was lying or not. Perhaps this old man suffered from dimensia and didn't remember who lived where. 

"Thanks," mumbled Mulder as he left dorm 24.

8:42 AM Aug. 23

Edison Police Station

Scully walked into the station with an official air about her. She knew what she wanted and she was going to find it. She walked up to the front desk where an older woman sat. "I am Special Agent Dana Scully with the FBI. I am looking for a police report on an accident that took place ten years ago. Do you know where I might find it?"

"Well, Agent Scully I can go in the back and look for it. But can you tell me anything else about this accident? I'm sure a lot of car accidents took place then."

"A Mr. Jon Rabry was involved in this accident. He might have been intoxicated while driving."

"Very well. I'll go look."

About ten minutes later the woman emerged from the back room, carrying a folder. Scully noticed that her nameplate read 'Janice O'Brian'.

Scully took the folder and asked, "By any chance, is you husband working on the accident that took place on August 21? The one where a Mr. Rabry died?"

Mrs. O'Brian replied, "Why yes he is. Have you two met?"

"No. But my partner, Agent Mulder, met him. Mr. O'Brian had wanted to look at the glass heart that we found at the site," explained Scully. She took the heart out of her pocket so Mrs. O'Brian could look at it. The moment Mrs. O'Brian touched it; the heart turned a deep blue.

"That's odd," said Scully, replacing the heart in her pocket. "Your husband got the same color when he touched it. Thank you for your help, Mrs. O'Brian." 

"I guess Mulder's theory was wrong," she thought.

Scully walked out of the police station and sat down in the car. She began reading the report. The accident had taken place ten years ago on August twenty-first. Mr. Rabry had been intoxicated while driving. It appeared that the passenger of Mr. Rabry's car died.

Scully scanned down the page, looking for more important information. "…The passenger of Jon Rabry's vehicle was a white female, age twenty-four. She died on impact. Her name was Rochelle Hall…"

Scully's mouth dropped open. This couldn't be! They had just met Miss Hall. She was fine… "Calm down, Dana," she told herself. 'There's no such thing as ghosts, it's just a coincidence. It's just-

The heart was glowing a brilliant purple in her pocket. Scully heard a noise; it sounded like a woman screaming. She looked outside and instinctively reached for her gun, but it was too late… 

Meanwhile…

8:42 AM Aug.23

J.D. Edison College

Mulder walked outside. Many thoughts floated through his head. Where was Rochelle? How was all her stuff moved so quickly? Was the janitor telling the truth?

He glanced at a poster as he passed by it. Mulder stopped and took a double take. There, on the poster, was a blown-up picture of Rochelle. The words '10 Year Reunion' were printed above the picture. Below the picture it said 'R.I.P.' 

Two couples were passing by. He stopped them, "Is that Rochelle Hall?" 

One of the women explained, "Yes, that is. Did you know her? It is so sad…she died so young."

"Died?"

This time one of the men spoke, "Yes. She died ten years ago, on the twenty-first, two days before our graduation. If only Jon had listened to her…Rochelle told him to get help. But he didn't listen. Then one night, he had too much to drink. She was with him and she tried to convince him that he shouldn't drive. Jon thought he was some 'macho man', invincible. But then they crashed…and she died."

Mulder stood there with his mouth hanging open. Rochelle died ten years ago? But then, how…

The other women exclaimed, "It was so sad! Rochelle was so smart and the best matchmaker. She set Ryan and me up. We've been married eight years now."

Mulder asked, "Did she have a glass heart?"

The second man replied, "A glass heart? Yeah. It was sort of weird, though, it glowed green when I touched it."

His wife looked at him. "You never told me that! It turned green when I touched it, too."

The other couple spoke at the same time; "It was yellow when I touched it."

They look at each other and laughed. "What do you think that means?"

Mulder had been going over all the facts in his head. "I think when two people touch the heart and get the same color they are soul mates; perfectly compatible with each other."

Both couples looked at Mulder with an I-think-you-are-crazy stare. It didn't bother him.

Mulder was exasperated, "Think about it. You two both touched the heart, and you both got green. You've been married eight years. You two both got yellow and have been married-

"Nine years," finished the first woman. "And we are expecting our second child."

Her husband looked at Mulder. "Maybe you do have a point."

The second woman said, "You know, Rochelle told me the night before she died that she wanted to make just one more couple. I thought she was talking about herself and Jon, but then…"

The woman's husband saw that the discussion was upsetting her. "We better go inside," he said.

"Thanks for your help," said Mulder as he watched the two couples walk inside.

What had he just discovered? The heart showed a person's soul mate by turning the same color…Rochelle had wanted to make one more couple… She had been mad at Mr. Rabry for not listening to her…Then she died…Now Jon Rabry was dead…

Mulder pulled out his cell phone and dialed up Scully. He wanted to talk this over with her and she was late picking him up…

8:52 AM Aug. 23

Edison Police Parking Lot

Scully instinctively reached for her gun, but it was too late…

Some force had control of her body and she couldn't do anything about it. Scully hated not being in control of her life, but not being able to control herself was a whole other matter. 

Her eyes were shut, so she couldn't see. She felt her hand reach out and open the door; then she was walking. From the clicking of her shoes it sounded like she was crossing the parking lot. But soon her footsteps became muffled; she was walking on grass. 

Scully desperately tried to regain control of her motor skills, but to no avail. It seemed like she had walked a mile before she felt herself stop. She felt her hand reach into her pocket and pull out the glass heart. 

Scully felt the wind whip around her and heavy raindrops begin to fall. But she still couldn't see because her eyes were still shut, and she still didn't have control of her movements.

Scully felt her hand lift into the air; holding the glass heart aloft. Then suddenly, from behind her eyelids, she saw a bright flash. She felt excruciating pain that started in her fingertips and filled her entire body. She realized that she and the heart had been struck by lightning…then all went black. 

Scully came to slowly. She blinked and opened her eyes. Looking around she saw that everything looked like a dream; the air seemed to be filled with a mist. 

Standing in front of her was a woman, her features indistinct in the mist. But Scully knew who she was. "Rochelle."

The woman took a step forward, and her looks became clearer. She had her hands on her hips like an upset mother. "So you recognize me, Agent Scully."

"Yes." Scully propped herself up on her elbows and attempted to stand. She wasn't able to; it seemed the force, the ghost of Rochelle, still had partial control over her body. 

"I'm afraid you'll have to stay down there, Agent Scully. I am not too pleased with you," exclaimed Rochelle.

"I don't think you are the one who should be passing judgment. You killed a man."

Rochelle shook her head. "Agent Scully, I am afraid you don't understand. Jon took my life away on that dark August night. He was drunk and I told him to get help, but did he listen? No. So now it's fair. You know the nice thing about being dead, Agent Scully? You learn the answers to everything. You know all."

Scully kept her voice level as she replied, "So what are you going to do, Rochelle? Kill me?"

"No," said Rochelle. Scully opened her mouth to speak, but with a flick of her hand Rochelle took away Scully's ability to talk. "Just listen, Agent Scully. Jon and I had something special. We were soul mates, perfect for each other. I would've done anything for him, but he wouldn't do the one thing I asked of him, to get help. Because of that I lost my body and my life. You may get the answers when you die, but you don't get a second chance at life. 

"As your partner already knows, I was a great matchmaker when I was alive. It wasn't really me, it was the glass heart." Rochelle gestured towards the heart still in Scully's hand. "My mother gave that to me when I entered college. She said it was magical and had been in our family for generations. She told me that, like love, the glass heart brings joy to some and sorrows to others. It is magical, but it only shows when two people are soul mates. The glass heart won't make anyone fall in love, or anything like that. 

"As a matchmaker I wanted to make one more couple. Then I planned on destroying the heart; I did not want anyone else to use it. But, sadly, that did not happen. I died, and it seemed that my last wish died too. After I died I was angry, I wanted Jon to pay for what he did. Then the perfect opportunity came along, you and Agent Mulder. Whether you wish to admit it or not, you two are soul mates who love each other. I knew that you investigated paranormal activities, X Files. And what am I, but an X File? I knew Mulder would be more than happy to come and investigate Jon Rabry's death, and me. I thought it would be killing two birds with one stone, so to speak. I would punish Jon for what he did and make one more couple. 

"But no. You, with your little wall up…Scully, you won't admit that you love him. Love is not safe, and you don't want to risk it. So I was not able to make my last couple. I cannot force you to open yourself up to Mulder. I can only offer you advice; you only live once, so don't get too comfortable behind your wall. When you die, you will have all the answers, but you won't get another chance to love. Having your life and your chance to love, those are very special things. Please don't waste them. You can still be a couple, you can still love him." 

With that the ghost of Rochelle faded into the mist, leaving Scully lying on the ground. 

8:53 AM Aug. 23

J. D. Edison College

Heavy rains began to come down outside. The sky was dark and had an eerie look about it.

Mulder punched in Scully's cell phone number and went to push the SEND button; but his phone rang before he pushed it. "This must be Scully," thought Mulder.

He answered, "Mulder."

A female voice replied, "Agent Mulder? I am Mrs. O'Brian from the Edison Police department. I spoke with your partner, Agent Scully, a moment ago. She told me you know my husband?"

Mulder was slightly impatient; he wanted to call Scully. "Yes, we met yesterday at the accident site."

"Good. Well, I just wanted to inform you that I saw Agent Scully leave the parking lot a few minutes ago. I know that's not strange, but she was walking in the direction of the graveyard. It has begun to pour, now, and she still hasn't returned. I thought you'd like to know…"

Mulder's mind raced. Rochelle was a ghost…an angry ghost…possibly capable of overpowering and killing someone…Scully wouldn't just go wondering into a graveyard in pouring rain…she was in trouble…

"Thanks," Mulder said and he clicked off his cell phone. He began jogging in the direction of the graveyard; there was no time to waste.

Mulder's shoes made a steady thumping sound as they hit the wet cement. Heavy raindrops also fell steadily to the ground. They soaked Mulder's clothes, so they stuck to his body, and wet his hair, so it lay flat on his head. The water ran down his face like mini rivers, and went into his eyes. But he ran on.

A harsh wind blew, causing bone-chilling cold as it mixed with the wet rain. Most people wouldn't want to move in this kind of weather, let alone run. But Mulder was numb to it all. His only thoughts were of Scully; his only objective was to reach her.

Mulder rounded a corner and saw the graveyard. It stood there in an eerie brilliance, shrouded in a mysterious mist. He franticly looked around. "Scully could be lying behind any head stone," he thought. 

Then there was a bright flash of light and he saw her. Mulder ran over to Scully's limp body and cradled her head in his lap. Her blue eyes were open and she seemed conscious.

He whispered in her ear, "Scully?"

Scully suddenly blinked, her eyes focused, she said, "Mulder. How did you get here?"

Mulder had a look of concern on his face, "Mrs. O'Brian saw you coming here and called me. I learned about Rochelle, what she is. But are you okay?"

Scully pulled herself upright. "Yeah. I'm fine."

She gingerly looked down at her hands, expecting to see burns. Surprisingly there weren't any, in fact there wasn't any sign that she had ever been struck by lightning. The glass heart, thought, was still in her hand. It glowed auburn.

"Are you sure? What happened?" Mulder reached out and gently pushed a strand of hair behind Scully's ear.

She grabbed his hand, about to push him away. But then she remembered what the ghost of Rochelle had told her, 'Having your life and your chance to love, those are very special things. Please don't waste them. You can still be a couple, you can still love him.' Instead Scully gently caressed his hand.

"Rochelle, or rather, the ghost of Rochelle was here. We spoke and she gave me some advice."

Mulder was take back by Scully's gesture, but he tried not to show it. "Why Scully, I thought you didn't believe those old ghost stories."

Scully studied Mulder's hand. "Me too."

They sat in silence for a moment, then Scully noticed how wet they both were. "Mulder you're soaking, did you run all the way here?"

Mulder smiled, "Yeah."

Scully took on a motherly tone as she said, "We should probably go to the hotel and change."

Mulder stood and helped Scully stand. He held her close, very close. "You know, for a minute there I thought I'd lost you. Scully, you know you are my touch stone, my one in four million, my constant." He gestured towards the glass heart. "You're my soul mate-

Scully put a finger to his lips. "I know what you're trying to say. And, Mulder, I love you too."

They stood for a moment, staring into each other's eyes. They were awe struck by there own revelation, epiphany. Scully slowly removed her finger and they kissed. All their emotions from years finally flowed freely. 

When they finally broke apart they stood there in silence. No words needed to be spoken. They turned to walk hand in hand out of the graveyard. Suddenly, Scully stopped. The glass heart had turned color, from auburn to purple.

Scully looked down at the nearest head stone. She tugged on Mulder's hand. "Mulder, this is Rochelle Hall's grave."

Mulder replied, "I think she wants her heart back."

Scully carefully set the glass heart on the head stone. It shown purple for a moment, then it seemed to melt into the stone. Its work was complete.

Scully turned to Mulder, "Now what?"

Mulder smiled at her, "How about a date?"

Scully smiled right back, her blue eyes twinkling. "If that's an offer, I except. But I really must change first. A nice hot shower is sounding wonderful right about now."

Mulder got a playful look in his eye. "Only if you make it there first."

He set off running. Scully's voice stopped him. "Uh, Mulder. I have the keys."

Mulder slowly walked back with a look of defeat. "Fine, Scully. You can have the shower first."

She smiled and replied, "That's more like it."

5:53 PM Aug. 23

Paper Leaf Hotel

Scully slowly stepped out of the shower. The mirror was covered in steam, so she wiped it off. She looked at herself for a moment. Then the realization of what she'd done hit her like a brick wall. "What have I done?" she thought. 

"Only broken FBI protocol," replied Scully's skeptical side. "You were not going to do this, you were going to control your emotions-

"No," Scully broke off her skeptical thoughts. "I did the right thing. I told the man I love how I feel, I broke down that wall. I can finally feel love, Mulder's love, and that is worth anything."

Scully smiled at her reflection and she walked over to her suitcase. She pulled out a black dress. It had a low neck line and fell to just below her knees. Her gold cross was a wonderful accent as it hung around her neck. "l am so glad I brought this," thought Scully as she slipped it on.

Scully added some make-up, fixed her hair, and then headed out. She walked over to Mulder's door and knocked. He opened it and stared at her for a moment. The thought, "I am so lucky!" floated through his head.

"Wow! You look beautiful Scully!" said Mulder.

She smiled and blushed. "Thanks."

Mulder gazed at her for another moment before explaining, "I made reservations for us at the Amour French Restaurant."

"Amour, huh? Doesn't that mean 'love' in French?" asked Scully in a teasing tone.

Mulder's only response was a smile.

Scully pulled the keys out of her handbag. "Let's go."

*****

6:12 AM Aug. 23

Amour French Restaurant

Mulder and Scully were seated at a candle lit table. 

"S'amuser bon appetit!" said the waitress. (Enjoy your meal!)

"Merci," replied Mulder. (Thank you.)

Scully had a blank look on her face. 

"I only told her thank you," explained Mulder.

He picked up his napkin. It looked strangely like an over sized Tampon. Mulder began to laugh as he remembered Scully's remark about him having PMS, then her reaction when she saw the sauce stain, now this napkin looking strikingly like a…

Scully looked up from behind her menu to see what Mulder was laughing about. She saw the napkin and also realized what it looked like. She began to laugh right along with him.

"See Mulder, I told you I would find you one!"

Mulder gave her a look, then proceeded to blow his straw wrapper at her. She blew hers back at him. They noticed the stares they were getting and stopped. Mulder and Scully looked into each other's eyes for a moment. You could almost see the love radiating from their eyes; no words needed to be spoken. Yes, everything would be fine. The right decisions had been made. Their love, their life, their chance would not be wasted.

********************************THE END*******************************


End file.
